Hours after diving gold medalist He Chong and two children lit a firecracker to ignite the Asian Games flame at the opening ceremony, China's women cricketers burst on to the international scene with a morale-boosting win over Malaysia.

A 55-run victory for the hosts in the opening match at the Guangdong Cricket Stadium will go down as a landmark moment for China cricket which is still taking its first fledgling steps on to the international scene.

It was described as 'momentous' by China's head coach Rashid Khan.

'This is a massive step for us and a momentous occasion,' said former Pakistan international Khan. 'To win our first game is a huge boost for the girls and will do their confidence a world of good.' China, batting first, began badly when they lost their first two wickets with only seven runs on the board. But Sun Huan, who like her teammates only picked up the game a couple of years ago, remained steadfast and scored an elegant 47 from 49 deliveries to lead a recovery as the mainland finished with a respectable 116 for six from the 20 overs.

'Sun batted very well. She hit shots all around the ground and didn't get bogged down,' Khan said.

Malaysia couldn't make any headway and were restricted to 61 for eight with pace bowler Mei Chunhua grabbing three for eight from her allotted four overs.